Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of liposuction surgery, a plastic cosmetic procedure in which fat cells are removed permanently from the body.
2. Background Information
Conventional liposuction, which features suction as the only active modality for removing unwanted fat cells, is a procedure fraught with complications, including excessive postoperative pain and the potential for major hemorrhagic complications. Several deaths have been reported because of the crudity of conventional liposuction. The mechanism in conventional liposuction is that suction tears the fat cells from their attachments. Unfortunately, suction also tears nerves and blood vessels.
Early attempts to use the laser as the operational modality for liposuction surgery met with failure, as the laser was too powerful an energy source. Heat from the laser, which was applied directly to the fat, would, in fact, melt and liquify fatty tissues, but, at the same time, this strong energy source would also damage nerves and blood vessels. In other words, the laser as employed for liposuction in the late 1980s had, in essence, a quite similar complication rate to that of conventional suction-only liposuction. Laser liposuction fell into disfavor and was abandoned as a failure.
An advance in the use of lasers for medical procedures occurred during experimentation with xe2x80x9claser phacolysisxe2x80x9d, a method for removing cataracts through a very small incision. It was noted that, although heat was produced by the laser, the tip of the phacolysis cataract instrument remained essentially cool. The proposed mechanism of action of the laser used there was that the laser light was focused on a metal target inside the tip. Optical breakdown occurs, leading to a shock wave. It is this shockwave which causes disruption of the cataract. In other words, the laser works indirectly as a facilitator, allowing the shockwave resulting from optical breakdown to do the actual work of breaking the quite-hard cataract into small pieces, which can then be aspirated.
In the present invention, laser energy is emitted into an xe2x80x9cactive areaxe2x80x9d located within the distal end of the cannula. Simultaneously, one or more jetstreams of water or aqueous solution are emitted into this same active area.
The laser bombards the water molecules supplied by the jetstream, and, secondary to this laser energy bombardment and the subsequent impartation of laser energy from the laser to the water molecules, the water molecules become extremely agitated. These xe2x80x9chyperkinetizedxe2x80x9d water molecules escape from the active area within the distal cannula tip through holes or ports into the substrate fatty tissue. The violently moving water molecules disrupt the adipocyte cell walls, releasing the liquidous material within the cells. This liquified fat is then aspirated by the cannula through one or more suction ports of the cannula, which is attached proximally to an outflow tube connected to a suction pump apparatus. The aspiration suction ports are preferably located on the lateral aspect of the cannula proximal to the active area, but, alternatively, a suction port can also be employed at the extreme distal end of the cannula via a tube traversing the active area and connecting to the internal hollow aspect of the cannula proximal to the active area.
The process may be observed via an endoscope attached separately to the external surface wall of the cannula. This feature is primarily useful for eyelid, face, and neck procedures.
The novel features of this invention, as well as the invention itself, will be best understood from the attached drawings, taken along with the following description, in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts, and in which: